


Apologies

by disgruntledchowchow



Series: One-Shots (at least for the time being) [7]
Category: Bridgerton (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-15 15:08:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,576
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29066331
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/disgruntledchowchow/pseuds/disgruntledchowchow
Summary: A long overdue apology.
Relationships: Daphne Bridgerton/Simon Basset
Series: One-Shots (at least for the time being) [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2135856
Comments: 3
Kudos: 52





	Apologies

Surrounded by the blue walls of her childhood bedroom, Daphne felt an upsurge of emotions. I mean this is where she had slept, for pretty much all of her life.

This is where she came to cry when Benedict and Anthony and Colin had left to go to Oxford and left her behind, this is where she and Eloise had huddled under the covers and laughed about the purple bruise on Anthony's neck that he claimed was from a branch hitting him during a horse ride, this is where she twirled in front of the mirror in her dresses pretending she was the most important and beautiful woman in the room.

Looking around, she had expected Eloise to change it quite a bit, given their differing tastes but Eloise hadn’t. She laughed a little to herself, there were definitely more books on the shelf than there had been when Daphne lived there, but otherwise, it was the same room it always was. Walking over to the bed, as she stroked the familiar covers, and heard the familiar creaks of the mattress and frame as she sat on the bed, she thought about how everything had changed in the last two months.

She remembered the days she spent in Simon's arms all over the Clyvedon estate, her crash course in sex education, her introduction to the town, that night, and the silent, tense carriage ride back to London to deal with the fallout of Colin’s broken engagement with Miss Thompson. She had been so caught up in her emotions surrounding her and Simon that she had never really focused on Colin that day. As she recalled that night, she remembered how broken he looked. The lost look in his eyes, the betrayal that showed so clearly on his face, she had thought she knew that look well given she had worn it herself a few days ago after that night with Simon. It was only then, as she was sitting on the bed did she realize where she had also seen that look before. It was the look on Simon’s face after she had ridden him to completion, disregarding his exclamation to wait.

She had been so caught up in her own feelings of betrayal she hadn’t ever noticed the true depth of betrayal he must have felt at that moment. They loved each other, she knew that, and they had discussed having children in the future and how he was happy to be a father and they had promised each other to be more forthcoming and honest, but while he had apologized to her for keeping his vow to his father from her, she had never truly apologized.

Caught up in the whirlwind of her own thoughts, she barely heard the door to her room open for her husband to enter. In fact, she startled when he kneeled in front of her, a smile on his face but a hint of worry in his eyes.

“Are you regretting giving Eloise your room? Planning to move back in are you?” He joked, hoping to lighten the mood.

She managed a wan smile, “Only if you are planning to kick me out”

“And why in the world would I do that?”

Daphne paled, “well…” She pulled him up to direct him to sit on the bed. Drawing her legs up to sit cross-legged to face him, she drew in a breath to steady herself before she looked at him and spoke, quietly but with conviction,

“I am sorry. So so sorry. I understand this is a long overdue apology, and I know we agreed to move forward and we have been so much better with each other but I can’t not apologize for this, Simon I am so so sorry I didn’t listen to you that night. I am not going to lie and say I didn’t know what I was doing, I did know and I wanted to be wrong about you, I wished that you had told me the truth that you couldn’t have kids, but I think I did know that I wasn’t wrong.” Her eyes began to water, and she drew in a couple of breaths to steady herself before she began again, “I love you. I really really do. I want children, but only if you want them too. I know we agreed to wait, even I want more time where I do not have to share you, but you told me once that you were so happy that I am content in our marriage with just the two of us and you were right. I am happy. The happiest I have ever been. I am so so sorry that I almost lost that for us, and I understand if you don’t feel the same, I understand if you aren’t ready to talk about it yet, and I understand if you do kick me out, but I wanted you to know. I am so sorry it took me so long to apologize to you, but in the spirit of honesty, I had to tell you. The last thing I’ll say is I hope you can find it in you to forgive me, to trust me, to love me, and to talk to me if and when you’re ready.”

She exhaled, feeling a weight lift off her chest, but as that weight receded it was followed by trepidation. Simon’s face betrayed no emotion, and he had not moved since she began speaking. Her eyes fell to the covers as she began nervously picking at the threads, her movements being jerkier and jerkier as her eyes watered and tears threatened to fall. She heard Simon take a deep breath,

“I trust you.” 

“You know my history, my upbringing, you know I don’t say that lightly. that night, well, you were wrong to do what you did, and I want to say thank you for apologizing for that. I accept your apology, I think it’s been a while now that I have thought about that night and felt anger, mostly I feel sad that we were not honest with each other in a way that we could have avoided such a situation.”

“We are better now.” He slipped a hand under her chin to tilt her eyes to meet his. “Honesty, trust, the foundations of a good relationship, we have them now.” He swiped a thumb across her cheek to wipe the tears away and pulled her into his embrace.

A few minutes later, Simon spoke: “So this is where you came.” She could hear the smile in his voice. “This is where the prim and proper Daphne Bridgerton slipped her hands under her nightgown and touched herself while thinking about the most notorious rake in all of London.”

Daphne pushed her face closer into his chest to hide her blush, feeling the laughter reverberate through his chest at her reaction. “Someone’s cocky, most notorious, really?” 

“How about we re-enact that night, and I’ll show you just how rakish I can be?”

“Eloise will MURDER me if we have sex on her bed. Is that what you want? A dead duchess on your hands?”

“Ah but the thrill of being caught…it’s half the fun…”

Daphne rolled her eyes, but her blush and his knowledge that she loves the slight bit of danger of being caught *cough cough their box at the opera cough* belied her concerns of being caught. She pinched him, making to move off him given his knowing smirk when she felt a small box in his coat pocket.

“What’s this?”

“Oh. well. I had hoped to do this in a more romantic fashion, but well here goes nothing. He slid to the floor on one knee. “Daphne. We started this whole marriage thing off in the middle. I never gave you a proper proposal, a proper honeymoon, and with the trip to London in the middle and the last few months we spent working through everything together, I think we are in a much better place now than before. I was at Lady Danbury’s the other day, and she gave me this ring. It was my mother’s family ring. I hadn’t wanted anything connected to my past when I gave you the ring you wear now, but my past is a part of who I am, and I have been spending more time with Lady Danbury and she’s told me so many stories about my mother I never knew. I think you would have liked her and her you.”

He took a deep breath. “Daphne, I love you. but more than that I trust you and I like you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you do me the honour of renewing our wedding vows with me?”

With her throat so clogged with emotion, Daphne can only nod and half-laugh half-cry as Simon slips the ring to sit snugly beside her first ring.

“I love you, Simon.”

He laughs and pulls her into his arms.

They leave Bridgerton house quickly after that, not even stopping to say goodbye to everyone in the parlour, it’s family and she can make up an excuse for them later. Right now, she has something to celebrate with her husband, and well if a re-enactment of her first night thinking about him is what he wants, well she’s an excellent Duchess who always gives her Duke exactly what he wants.

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!!  
> Thank you so SO so much for reading, I hope you liked it —  
> if you ever wanna come yell at me about bridgerton or harry potter or criminal minds or one of my other 34 interests please comment or hmu on tumblr  
> disgruntledchowchow :)) 
> 
> also lmk what you’d like to see more of!!


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